It'll be closer than I expected, but she's right on track for a W. I'd put her right about even with Kay Hagan as far as her chances go - people who for all intents and purposes should have lost, but went up against bad candidates.

Shaheen would be toast if Republicans decided they wanted to contest this race, but they decided to nominate Scott Brown instead.

Who should've they nominated then?

Judd Gregg, Frank Guinta, or Charles Bass.

Bass and Gregg are has-beens, and Guinta is damaged goods in the state's more right-wing half. Bill Binnie might be the best realistic possible candidate here, but Brown is a very skilled politician and is doing quite well -- better than, say, Mark Udall.

Shaheen would be toast if Republicans decided they wanted to contest this race, but they decided to nominate Scott Brown instead.

Who should've they nominated then?

Besides Bass or Gregg (who are out of politics anyways), Chris Sununu would have probably been their best bet. I can think of a bunch of state senators too (Jeannie Forrester and Nancy Stiles first come to mind, and of course there's Jeb Bradley), and Marilinda Garcia would have been much better off running here instead of NH-2. But coming from someone who's generally happy with the NHDP - we dodged a bullet.

It'll be closer than I expected, but she's right on track for a W. I'd put her right about even with Kay Hagan as far as her chances go - people who for all intents and purposes should have lost, but went up against bad candidates.

I'd say Shaheen is in a better position than Hagan.

1) NH is bluer than NC.2) She's consistently close to 50, unlike Hagan who tends to stay around 45.3) Unlike Hagan, Shaheen has positive approvals and favorability ratings.

Jeanne Shaheen is the odd one out in these contentious races - she's still fairly popular with voters. Is the closeness just because New Hampshire is crazy?

New Hampshire is a swing state, so I'm not at all surprised that the race is close. If Shaheen does hold on, it will not be because she's effectively represented NH - I highly doubt that the people of NH want her to vote with Obama 99% of the time as she does. It's just that Scott Brown, despite being ideologically fit for new Hampshire, isn't able to shake off the carpetbagger/opportunistic narrative, or get past the general negative feelings that people in NH have about politicians from "Taxachusetts".